The Frost Of Winter
by DancerOfDanger
Summary: Kaya Winters was a normal girl, babysitting a boy who believed in magic and legendary figures, Jamie Bennett. She wasn't planning on saving him from getting hit by a car, and becoming Mother Nature either. Can Jack Frost help her find her centre? Join Kaya and the Guardians as Pitch Black returns, and they save the children of Earth, from another evil nightmare. JACKxOC. R&R!
1. Preface - The Death of Kaya Winters

"Sure Jamie. Whatever you say." I rolled my eyes, and went back to working on my eco-posters.

"I'm telling you Kaya, they're real!" I turned to Jamie, and opened my mouth to say something, but I was interrupted when my twin brother, Ty walked through the front door.

"Is he still going on about _'Jack Frost'_?" He asked, with a slight teasing tone to his voice. I smacked him upside the head and turned back to Jamie.

"Jamie. For the last time. Jack Frost isn't real. He's a myth, a legend. He doesn't exist." I shrugged and turned back to my posters again. But I was too late to stop myself from seeing the tears that formed in Jamie's eyes.

"He is so!" Jamie then turned and raced right out of the house.

"Jamie!" I cried. I bolted out of the house, and after him, but not before I saw the doom that was driving toward him. Jamie, too consumed by the sadness he must of felt, didn't even notice.

"Jamie, look out!" I cried. I jumped onto the road, and pushed Jamie out of the way, and felt a searing amount of pain in my body. But it didn't matter anymore, as the pain suddenly felt non-existent, and just before I blacked out, I saw the moon shining down on me. What I thought was a promise of a new day.


	2. I Do NOT Believe

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians. The only thing I own is the plot, the OC's you will be introduced to, and on occasion Jack Frost ;),**

* * *

My eyes snapped open, only to be met with a sight for sore eyes. Snow. Snow was falling in Burgess, and it was almost a welcoming, and comforting sight, which was strange for me, considering I hated the cold. But now you ask? I welcomed it with open arms. I looked up to the moon, then back down to the ground to take in my surroundings.

I was confused. I was in the cemetery. I looked at my feet, to see I was standing on a freshly made grave. I looked to the tombstone, and I'm telling you, I would have died, well figuratively at least. Because there it said;

_Here Lies Kaya Winters_

_Beloved Daughter, Sister, Friend_

_May Her Spirit Live On In This World_

I dropped to the ground, to see flowers scattered all over the ground. Was this really my grave? Did I really die? I tried to think, but all I saw was darkness. I looked up to the moon again, my vision blurred by the tears that threatened to fall.

"What's happened to me? Am I a ghost? Am I really dead?" I asked, though I felt stupid, because I knew no-one would answer me. Well, I thought no-one would answer me.

"_I, Man In Moon, have brought you back for a reason my dear. You are now the Spirit of Earth, the Guardian of Nature. You are Mother Nature. You were harder to resurrect than the other Guardians, but I do believe I have chosen wisely. You are ready for this task, I am sure. Find the Guardian of Fun, the Spirit of Winter. He will know what to do…"_

The voice faded, but I had so many more questions. Who was Man In Moon? What reason have I been brought back for? What did he mean by Guardian? Resurrect? That means I'm dead, right? What task was he speaking of? Who was the Guardian of Fun? When did my life get so complicated? I dropped to the ground, and sobbed into my hands.

Then I took a deep breathe, and did the only logical thing I could think about. I ran. I ran this way and that way, wanting to get lost, so as I could never go back to that grave again. But Burgess was my home, I couldn't just '_get lost'_ automatically. I had to go somewhere I've never been before. The forest.

I had never really been in the forest. My mother had always said it was the most dangerous place that a girl like me could go into. When I was younger, my friends and I would dare each other to see how far in we could go. The one who didn't go in as far as everyone else, got a rude awakening the next morning. I'm talking, embarrassment. _Severe_ embarrassment. I wouldn't call myself pretty or attractive, with my shoulder length strawberry blonde hair, and my dark blue-grey eyes, and pale skin, but according to my mother, I could have given Miss Burgess a run for her money.

I just ran and ran until I got to the edge of the forest. The trees loomed above me, and the darkness that weaved its way through the trees, should have been enough warning to tell me to turn around and go back, but I never was one to listen. I was a rebel. A rule-breaker. I had what my friends called, '_trouble with authority_'. I never really noticed.

I took a deep breathe, and plunged into the forest. I leaped over tree roots, ran around trees, I stopped only once to get my bearings and to catch my breath, but as soon as that was accomplished I was off again. I didn't want to stay here. I came to a small lake, that looked to be frozen over, but I knew better, and stayed at the edge. I sat down, and put my head in my hands. My crying had subsided a while ago; all that was left was the just visible, dried tear tracks down my cheeks.

"Hey, are you ok?" I jumped, and ran into the middle of the lake, clearly not thinking. I looked around in all the trees, up, down and all around. But I could not find an owner for this voice. The tears and the fear were suddenly coming back in waves, and in all honesty, I didn't know what to do.

I fell to my knees, in the middle of the lake; my hands covered my ears, to stop the voice. I then felt a hand on my shoulder, and I screamed.

I opened my eyes, stood up from the searing cold ice, and turned to my attacker, and kneed him where the sun don't shine. The boy/man doubled over onto the ice, then looked up at me.

"You felt my hand on your shoulder?" I was crying, and breathing at a distressed rate.

"Who are you?! How did you know I was here?" I screamed.

"Easy, take a deep breath." He said. I didn't listen. I was tense, and I didn't want to stand here any longer than I could.

"My name is Jack Frost, I'm the Guardian of Fun," This caught my attention, "Usually only kids can see me…" I cut him off as I placed my hand over his mouth.

"What did you just say?" I asked him.

"Only kids can see me?" He asked, his voice muffled by my hand.

"No before that. Who did you say you were?" I phrased my sentence differently, and looked at him through wide eyes, my eyes telling me it was real, but my mind telling me something completely different. I took my hand off his mouth before he started to speak.

"I'm Jack Frost," he started proudly, as he straightened up, "The Spirit of Winter, and the Guardian of Fun! May I be so bold, as to ask your name?" He answered, and then grabbed my wrist.

I instantly tensed again. Jack, probably sensing this, let go instantly, and raised his hands up in the air.

"Ok, easy. No touching. Just take it easy. I'm not going to hurt you." He whispered. Now I realised, that he didn't look at all like anyone I knew. He wore brown pants that were frayed at the ends, no shoes, a blue hoodie that looked to have a design of snowflakes or frost around his neck and shoulders. In his left hand he held what looked like Little Bo Peep's Shepard Staff, which was also covered in ice, and his hair was as white as the snow that layered the ground. But none of that is what caught my attention. His eyes were a deep sapphire blue, the same blue that I wished my eyes were. I was getting dragged deeper and deeper into his eyes, before I realised what he said his name was.

"Wait Jack Frost? As in Jamie Bennett's imaginary friend, Jack Frost? That Jack Frost?" I asked in disbelief. He didn't exist, and I knew that for a fact, someone was definitely messing with me.

"Whoa-oh-oh-oh! Let's get one thing straight. I am not imaginary!" He started. "You're standing right in front of me, clearly not a kid, and you can see me! That must mean only two things; you secretly believe in me, and you're too afraid to admit it, or you're dead, and a Guardian." He got up in my face. The tears started to trail down my face. Jack must have seen it, as his face immediately softened, and his eyes held an emotion that I had never really seen in anyone's eyes before, except mine. Concern.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He whispered.

"No, I know I'm not dead, and I know I do not believe. This is all just a dream. You don't exist. Santa, Easter Bunny, Sandman and the Tooth Fairy do not exist. This is just a figment of my imagination. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go home, get into bed, wake up the next morning, and forget this ever happened, because this is all a dream, and that is all it will ever be." I took a deep breathe, turned around and marched strongly back in the direction I thought my house was.

"Ah," I heard from behind me. Being raised by my mother, I turned around to be polite.

"Yes Jack?" I asked sweetly, as I knew that this was all just a dream.

"Town is thatta way." He pointed to his right, with his index finger, and smirked as I looked that way.

"Ah, I knew that." I replied. I felt the blood rush up onto my cheeks, and I sincerely hoped, that it was from the snow and the cold. But as much as I hated to admit it, I knew it wasn't.

"If you think it's really just a dream, come back here tomorrow. If I'm not here, then it is really just a dream, if I am here, you know that we exist. There's a fifty/fifty chance of that happening." I heard Jack from behind me. I turned around, and stared him right in the eyes.

"What makes you think I'll be able to find this place again?" I asked, my hands on my hips, my tense nature suddenly forgotten like Grandma Tessie's Blue Cheese Fondue.

"Follow the frost." Jack then laughed, and was whisked up into the sky, by a gust of wind and was gone. I rolled my eyes, and walked back to town. I walked down street after street, until I finally came to my destination. Home.

It was a small townhouse, that both my brother and I paid for. Sure we had to drop out of school to do it, but in my opinion, it was worth it. You see, my dad left when Ty and I were about two, I guess we were just too much for him, but he never came back. Three years ago, our mother got diagnosed with severe breast cancer. The doctors said she only had weeks to live. Those weeks, turned into months, and those months turned into one year, four months, one week, six days and five hours. Yes, I was keeping count, but who's asking?

I lost my best friend that day. Someone I could tell anything to. I don't know what I'd do if I lost Ty. Hell, I don't even know what Ty would do if he lost me. But I'm telling you, I'm not all that keen to find out. I opened the door with the key under the ceramic turtle/frog thing Ty and I made mum in third grade, walked up the stairs, into my room and flopped down on the bed. I turned my head so I saw a direct view of the moon, and really it all came rushing back. The moon doesn't normally talk to people. Jack's hand felt so real, and so did the snow, and the cold of his hand. The ground beneath my feet felt real when I was standing on my supposed "grave". I was over this. I looked to the moon.

"Why me?" I whispered, as I slipped into darkness.

* * *

The next morning I expected to wake up to a sunny day, that I would welcome back with open arms. But again, all I got was a snow day. I took a deep breathe, kicked the covers off, jumped out of bed, and walked out the door in the hallway. I walked down the stairs, and into the kitchen. I didn't see Ty like I usually did at this time of morning, and probably figured that he got the opening shift at '_Death's Tavern_', the café he worked at. Myself on the other hand, I worked at '_The Winter's Angel_'. A totally different café, but it was pretty much all the same to us anyway.

I walked out the front door, onto the porch, and knelt down to the froggle (a mix between a frog and a turtle), and locked the door behind me. I turned around and walked down the porch steps. I took a deep breath of the frosty winter air, and started to walk in a random direction. I didn't even know where I was going, until I saw the house of Jamie Bennett appear. But even I knew he wouldn't be home at this time of day, he would be out playing with his friends.

Speaking of his friends, I saw most of them having a snowball fight. I walked over to them.

"Hey everyone!" I cried happily. I walked over to Jamie, but then he turned around and did something I never even thought was possible. He ran right through me. I stumbled backwards, tears formed in my eyes. I tried to breathe, to convince myself that I was still dreaming. But I knew I wasn't. I then ran from the scene. But then I remembered something from my dream. '_Follow the Frost_'. I looked to the ground, to see that it was, indeed, covered in a fresh layer of frost. I followed the path as quickly as I could, while I had people walk through me. This was really starting to freak me out. '_Find the Guardian of Fun, the Spirit of Winter. He will know what to do._' Even though I wrote it off as a dream, this was more than just a dream now. I was frightened, scared. Whatever you want to call it. There was only one way to figure out what is going on. Talk to 'Jack Frost'.

After a few more minutes of getting walked into, and running around I made it to the lake. The lake was still frozen over. I took a deep breathe. I couldn't believe I was about to do this.

"Jack? Jack Frost? Come on out Icicle!" I called out to the wind, and to be honest, I felt like an idiot.

"So, is it still a dream, or have you finally come to your senses?" He flew down and skated onto the lake. I still couldn't decide if he was real or not.

"I have a million questions, that need answers. I want you to give them to me, cause knowing me, no-one else will answer them." I tried to keep my breathing as even as possible, but after being walked through by everyone you know, calm and collected kinda gets thrown out the window. Jack then noticed my sorry state.

"What happened?" He growled. His voice sounded protective, like if someone hurt me, he wouldn't hold back. I looked into his eyes, to see that he was indeed pissed.

"People are walking through me. My friends, the boy I babysit, Jamie Bennett. HE _**WALKED**_ THROUGH ME JACK! They don't see me, they don't hear me, heck they don't even feel me! What's happening?" I asked, my composure crumbling as I let the tears fall. Then I did something I never thought I'd do, I hugged him. His body went tense, but his arms went around my shoulders slowly, and comfortingly.

"It was the same for me when I became Jack Frost. Except, I didn't have my memories, I had no idea where I was. _**Who**_ I was. But that all changed when I went to the Guardians and saw my memories through my teeth the Tooth Fairy had collected when I was younger. None of us know exactly why we were chosen, but we do know that we were chosen to protect the wonder, hopes and dreams of kids all over the world. Last year, when Pitch Black was trying to get rid of us for good, Jamie fought for us. He refused to stop believing, and so help me, I will find a way for you to be seen as well." He finished what I thought was a monologue, and then I realised. I was talking to a figment of my imagination. I was dreaming again, that had to be it.

I pulled away and skated to the other side of the lake.

"It's not as easy as that Jack. I used to believe in you, but then I stopped when I was around twelve. If I knew you actually existed, then we would be having a very different conversation. But as this stands, I know that you're not real. I must have been knocked into a coma or something, when I got hit by that car, so of course my mind is going to be a little screwed up at the start. I appreciate what you said, but it's not going to work." I finished. I was dead set, that this theory is exactly what was happening to me at this moment in time.

A dark expression crossed onto Jack's face, and he stomped his foot in frustration.

"What do I have to do to make you believe?!" He yelled. I flinched away, when I heard the tone of his voice, but I knew in the end that this was all just a dream.

"You don't have to Jack. This is just something my subconscious has whipped up, to keep me from dying. You're just my imagination Frost." I whispered, as I laid a hand on his shoulder.

"If you were in a coma, you wouldn't be dreaming! You don't dream when you're in a coma! You know, it's hardly fair that you know my name, but I don't know yours." He changed the subject slyly, but I immediately picked up on it. He was trying to be discreet, to keep me from leaving. But my mind instantly went back to what he said about comas. Was it true? Was I really dead? Was I really a Guardian?

"Prove it." I whispered daringly. I didn't think he was expecting that, for he flinched back in surprise, and looked me dead in the eyes. I then felt a cold hand on my cheek.

"If you can feel how cold I am to the touch, if you feel how real I am. Feel how real the ground is beneath your feet. Feel the cold breeze that blows through the trees. How can you say that all of this," He gestured around the lake with his arms, and turned back to look at me, "Is a dream?" He asked, as he got right up and personal. Into my personal bubble.

"Because, I know for a fact that legendary figures, myths like you, do not exist. I stand by what I said Jack," I started, as I felt myself start to get very angry, "You. Do. Not. Exist!" I yelled, after each word I poked him on the chest with my index finger. As soon as I finished the last word, the sky above me rumbled, grey storm clouds rolling in. I looked up, and felt a raindrop fall onto my cheek.

"You may not believe, but you did that. Don't bother telling yourself any different." Jack said bluntly. I knew he was hurt, and I instantly regretted saying what I did. As Jack started to skate to the other side, I called out his name.

"Jack!" I cried. He turned around with a look of hurt and frustration on his face.

"What." He said bluntly, which I felt was so different from the boy I had met. Well, uh, my subconscious had met.

"My name is Kaya."

* * *

Hey everyone! Merry Christmas! I would've thrown a little Christmas in here, but that totally defeats the purpose of a Christmas chapter I have in store for later in the plot! I hope you all enjoyed your pressies, and your day, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

_Guest 01: Oh my please continue, I'm already obsessed and it's only been one chapter_

**Hehe! Thank you! I totally understand! I get so obsessed with chapters about OC's and my favourite male character, but then again which obsessive fangirl doesn't?! I hope you are still reading and enjoying the stories hun! Thanks for the review! It means the world to me!**

_8annie81: That happened very quickly. I hope we learn more about her in later chapters_

**Don't worry! You will! As you read in this chapter, Kaya is dead set on her meeting Jack is just a dream, and that she will wake-up and it would never have happened. But, obviously it isn't a dream. Jack and Kaya are the way I've written them, because I wanted them to start out how Jack and Bunny are at the start, except he's gentler toward her. But I'm not going to tell you anything else! We will learn more about her in future chapters, but if you want to know straight away, shoot me a PM, and I'll tell you anything you want to know about her! Enjoy the chapter, and thank you so much for reviewing! It means the world to me!**


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